A DEVELOPERS’ wishlist of more than 200 potential sites – which could see tens of thousands of new homes built across the Winchester district – has been published, with land at Winchester Cathedral and Micheldever Station included.

The SHELAA (Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment) list has been put together as part of Winchester City Council’s work to produce a Local Plan for up to 2036.

IN FULL: the list of SHELAA potential development sites >>>

As well as the cathedral – 20 homes built in the next six to ten years – and Micheldever Station, other sites that could prove to be controversial include South Winchester Golf Club in Romsey Road, Hursley – 1,071 homes in the next ten-15 years – and Sir John Moore Barracks in Littleton – 1,264 in the next five years.

The sites were unveiled at a meeting of the council’s Local Plan committee, which met on Monday.

A report that went before councillors at the meeting said: “The sites included in the SHELAA result from a ‘call for sites’ which was open to all.” It states 249 sites were submitted for assessment, with 215 making the published list.

The sites submitted could potentially be used for a range of purposes, including housing, retail, leisure, self-build, and Gypsy/Traveller sites.

However, the reported added: “The SHELAA does not allocate land for development – this will be achieved through the Local Plan process... The SHEELA lists sites that are available for development and identifies significant constraints which may affect their suitability.

“There are far more sites included than are likely to be needed to accommodate the level of growth the council will need to plan for.

“Further site selection work based upon agreed criteria will be required to be undertaken through the Local Plan process.”

One of the most controversial sites to be included in the list is the land at Micheldever Station.

As previously reported, initial plans have been revealed to build 6,000 homes on the Sutton Scotney Estate, at Micheldever Station, which marks the latest chapter in a nearly 30-year planning saga.

The plans, which it is said will create more than 5,000 jobs, have proved highly controversial, just as previous schemes have, with hundreds of residents packing out the Warren Centre, Micheldever Station, in October to hear from campaign group The Dever Society.

Tessa Robertson, chairman, was at the meeting on Monday and told the Chronicle: “The Micheldever new town proposal sticks out in the SHELAA like a sore thumb.

“The vast majority of the sites in the list will never be needed, but it shows that there are plenty of options for smaller scale developments. These are likely to be a far more appropriate way to satisfy the need for new homes in our local communities than 6,000 plus homes at Micheldever.

“We have been told by the developers that they will be promoting the new town throughout the Local Plan process and we are only too aware that once again there is a long battle ahead of us.”

The site, which is currently owned by the Magnier family, who are working in partnership with the O’Flynn Group on the plans, also gained opposition from Winchester MP Steve Brine, who said at the campaign meeting: “I’m actually quite angry this time.

“It does make me wonder how many times and how many ways we have to say no to a new town.

“They want to make a killing by killing the countryside.”

Other controversial sites to make the SHELAA list include land between Hursley and Winchester, 5,234 homes in the next five years; Littleton Stud, 1,055 homes, and the playing field at Perins School, Alresford – 39 homes.

Responding to the list, councillor Patrick Cunningham, who is also chairman of Littleton and Harestock Parish Council, one of the more affected areas, said: “I don’t see the vast majority of these succeeding in the short term. My main concern is protecting what is effectively a rural village.

“My objective will be to try to maintain the character of Littleton as a village in its own right.”